Whole Medicine Blog

Tolstoy and IFS

Tolstoy and IFS

  Leo Tolstoy opened his blockbuster novel Anna Karenina with this famous statement: All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. And went from there to show -- in gloriously artful detail -- how one family's story could exemplify...

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We can do soft things, too

Dear Friend, Because you found resonance with it, I listened to this podcast: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4YhFtVw5JlM8NFuJXgxwbn?si=087f7ec3a4364708 I admire Glennon's commitment to tread the rough path of recovery from anorexia.  Yes I do. And no doubt this IS...

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Ego ‘n Me

Ego is what holds my Parts together into a functioning Me. Parts who are burdened, carrying unhealed wounds and unmet fears, derange Ego into reactions of hostility, fear, greed, anger and blaming. With my Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist's help, I connect with...

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DYING

DYING

When I am afraid, my capacity to connect to someone I trust and love is diminished ~~ if not totally extinguished. The thing I need the most is the most difficult thing for me to find. This is a pattern I see in myself and in others I work and play with. If I had a...

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Welcome and Witness

Welcome and Witness

~~This being human is a guesthouse.  Every morning a new arrival.    (Rumi) The recently departed, dearly beloved teacher Thich Nhat Hanh envisioned our human consciousness in two segments  -- the living room, where what we are aware of within us at any given moment...

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COZY

COZY

  Do you know the word 'hygge'? It’s a Danish and Norwegian word (pronounced hyoo'guh) describing  'a mood of coziness and comfortable conviviality with feelings of wellness and contentment.' For me it’s like coziness: a warm living room with soft blanket, a...

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Wellness Retreat or Great Work?

Wellness Retreat or Great Work?

For a while we offered residential wellness retreats.  At the time, we were thrilled to feel we had the capacity to literally SURROUND a client suffering from chronic illness and mood problems with such potent healing modalities that their state-needle would HAVE to...

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Permission to Rest

Permission to Rest

We're taxed.  We're exhausted.  We need to shut down.  It's evening TV time, and zoning out on super heroes saving the world doesn't exactly save our world. Or maybe you are the one pushing on with endless to-do's making it possible for others to have evening TV time....

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Settling

Settling

A wonderful dog behaviorist we've worked with demonstrates a method of settling an excited puppy.  It looks like magic. The trainer explains that on the contrary, it's nature at work. When the human's nervous system is calm and regulated, that 'message' will be...

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The Things We (Still) Carry

The Things We (Still) Carry

Holidays have come and gone, and perhaps with them the experience of the mixed blessing of family. These are the most important connections for most of us, and if we are honest, often the most triggering of our stress response. How is it that these two things go...

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